Trends

Apple’s iOS 18 update supports RCS messages

AuthorZora Lin

Reading Time2 min

PublishedJuly 1, 2024

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Headline

Context

OUR TAKE Compared to traditional SMS and MMS standards, RCS messages offer significant improvements in transmission speed, media quality and chat capabilities. Support for RCS messaging in iOS 18 will further enhance Apple’s user experience and enhance brand appeal and user engagement. –Zora Lin, BTW reporter Apple introduced Rich Communications Services (RCS) support in its latest messaging app developer beta iOS 18, iPhone users can now send RCS messages to those using Android, and images and video messages will also appear in their inboxes, represented by RCS tags. But the text message bubble color is still green.

Evidence

Pending intelligence enrichment.

Analysis

RCS allows iPhone and Android users to exchange higher-quality photos, videos, audio files, and larger attachment sizes. In addition, features such as read receipts and real-time typing indicators are supported. The service offers cross-platform emoji reactions and has also improved on group chat. Also read: Apple and Meta discuss AI partnership Also read: Apple surpasses Microsoft to become world’s most valuable company With support for RCS messages in iOS 18, iPhone users will be able to send and receive rich messages with imessage-like features to Android users, breaking the platform barrier and improving the cross-platform communication experience.

Key Points

Apple’s update removes the restriction that iPhone users can only send regular text or multimedia messages to non-Apple devices.
Supporting RCS messages is an important decision made by Apple, which helps expand the Apple ecosystem and the global market.